Too many meds!!!

I was initially diagnosed with binge eating disorder and treatment resistant depression. Ultimately the depression changed to a BPII diagnosis.

The number of meds I take alone (without any of the actual psych symptoms!) makes me feel crazy.

How much is too much? Is this normal?

AM:
40mg Vyvanse
10-20mg Prozac (weaning down, told doc I want to stop taking this)
B12 (for energy) & fish oil (heard it's good for people with BP)

Midday:
5mg Adderall

PM:
600mg Lithium (titrating up to therapeutic dose)
50mg Topomax
.1 mg Clonidine
5mg Ambien

PRN:
.5-1mg Ativan for anxiety

Lots of people need a heavy case load of medications to find baseline and learn coping skills and know how to actually use them when needed.

Personally I would add Vitamin D to the mix as most people BP or not have low D.

Once you find stability that is when you can start to decrease one med at a time and see how it goes . Dropping more than one at a time is only going to confuse the situation. It takes time for the meds to start working so its going to take as much time or a little more for your brain to revert back to pre X medication.

Maybe just focus on finding baseline and sitting there for a while and then make decisions about lowering or stopping any meds.

Good luck and Welcome to PC

Your list actually doesn't seem too terrible to me. I know it can be totally overwhelming to take a bunch of pills everyday. Just the ones I take everyday for my physical medical problems is a super long list (7 in the am, three at midday and 5 at night) add to that Seroquel, Oxascand (a benzo) and Zopiklon for sleep and it just seems insane.

I don't think there's really a 'normal' amount of pills anyone takes. I think it Gary's greatly from person to person. It all comes down to whether you're benefiting from them or not and if you cope well with the side effects. Good luck to you.

Don't add Vitamin D without a blood test first. It is one of the few vitamins that your body can store and it can build up to be too much if you don't know for sure that you are low on it. But the test is worth it as it really helps to correct a deficiency.

I don't think you are on that much medication. It often takes several meds to get stabilized. Sometimes when you've been stable for a while you can start to come down on things to find the least necessary meds.

Thank you. Appreciate the perspective!

I totally understand you feeling you are on too many meds. This is something that has been bothering me lately too. It is confronting to keep throwing pills in your mouth all day. The big question is, 'Are they working for you'. If so then do as Christina said and learn as many coping skills as you can while stable then you can review the situation in 6 months time and consider going off a couple of meds, one at a time, in consultation with your doctor.

How do you feel? Do you feel better or like an emotionless zombie. If they are helping, don't drop them.

I hear you on this topic!
I too worry about the amount of meds I'm on.
My daily cocktail looks much like yours with one more
than you have.

Is this the norm for bipolar people?

I think that aerobic exercise, a helpful routine, and being around accepting people are as important to level us out. I made a lot of mistakes on this one lately and paid a big price.

Spaceyspace- sometimes I do feel like a zombie & that's what's a bit alarming.

I'm swept up in meds, symptoms, side effects.... Between the rollercoaster my brain has been on lately (cycles that can change within days or less) and then just being exhausted from med changes/titration and stomach problems from the lithium, nothing feels right. I realize it sounds a bit melodramatic, but I can't tell if things are more or less hopeless now that I'm aggressively treating the right diagnosis.

Bleh. Took me a bit to find the right emoji, but I think this is it:

Hi all again. I chimed in before that I too am on many meds. I was wondering though, how do you know when it is time to decrease them. I am finally stable on what i take now
Effexor 150mg
mirtazapine 70mg
latuda 120 mg
xanax prn
dexedrine 30mg
nuvigil 250mg

So yeah, been feeling stable for about 6 months now and my dr wants to start
decreasing now. We are going to start with the
Latuda as it is the most toxic one.

I am feeling really scared to change anything now though that I finally feel
better.
Does your brain start working right from these meds and that is
why you start to take them away????
Is this the goal we should have to come off them or is it
meant that we keep taking them until we NEED another change?
Is my brain finally producing the right chemicals and can
therefore stop taking the meds? Does this make sense...or are
we meant to take them always???

It took me years to finally feel stable and coming down was something
I thought I wanted but now that it's crunch time I am feeling so scared.
Anyone have any advice?

I haven't read much here nor do I want to.
I went to the shrinkette today. And asked fo mo meds. Why?.
Because I want to feel even better. If I need 'em, fine. If not, fine too.
But I have 'em. Which doesn't mean I'll take 'em all. Good luck.

Sorry- but I don't really understand why this is helpful. Good luck to you as well.

Hi, I take a lot of meds, too, and have for years. Lots of med changes and I won't take meds that cause weight gain or are overly sedating.

A couple of months ago, my pdoc said I may be stable enough to go off one of my antipsychotics. However, I'm not currently stabilized so I don't think he will take me off it soon. I trust him and we work as a partnership as to what meds I take. I do defer to his final judgment as I have no medical experience.

I've never done a med reduction that you've mentioned. I don't feel I'm over medicated. Each medication I take serves a specific purpose(s). I'm on a mood stabilizer, a stimulant, two antidepressants, and a benzodiazepine. He has told me that he thinks I will need medication my entire life. I'm ok with that.

I used to take Topamax, too, now that I think about it. I'd been prescribed it when I was hospitalized and my pdoc and I didn't think it was helpful. So we discontinued it.

I hope that helps you some. I have some other MI so I might not need as many if I was single bipolar diagnosis.